The invention relates generally to contact centers and, more particularly, to allocation of resources, such as staff and communication channels, of a contact center.
A contact center (for example, a telephone call center of the type commonly used for telemarketing) typically employs a number of agents who service customers of the contact center using a number of communication channels or transport mechanisms, which may be of a single type or of varying types. Examples of such transport mechanisms include the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and associated telephone trunk lines, the Internet and other packet-transfer connections, cellular telephone systems, satellite communication systems, cable communication systems, etc. Additionally or alternatively, a contact center may employ non-audio transport mechanisms, for example, facsimile or electronic mail transmission. No matter what transport mechanism(s) may be employed by a contact center, the success of a contact center enterprise generally depends upon the efficient allocation of the resources of the contact center, such as contact-center agents and communication channels or transport mechanisms.
Previously, responsibility for maintaining the efficient allocation of resources within a contact center was borne, for the most part, by the administrator of the contact center. For example, in the past, a contact-center administrator would gather and evaluate historical data relevant to earlier operation of the contact center and make decisions as to whether and how to re-allocate contact center resources to improve the efficiency of the contact center. The decision of the contact center administrator then had to be implemented, usually manually, inevitably resulting in a sub-optimal allocation of contact-center resources, as well as resulting in a substantial burden being placed on the contact-center administrator. Further, because the contact center operates substantially continually, any loss of efficiency in contact-center operation would continue, under this prior, manual approach to allocating resources until the contact-center administrator had time to gather and assess the relevant information and implement any necessary re-allocation of resources.
The invention generally relates to a novel method and apparatus for allocating resources of a contact center in a way that alleviates some of the foregoing problems with prior resource allocation techniques. In one embodiment, an “intelligent agent” may be used to monitor one or more operational parameters indicative of contact center performance, compare the monitored operational parameters with corresponding threshold values, and develop, based on the comparison, an indication of an action to be taken to affect the allocation of the resources of the contact center.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, resources of a contact center are allocated by a method in which at least one operational parameter of the contact center is electronically monitored, a comparison is performed between the operational parameter and a threshold value for the operational parameter, and an indication of an action to be taken to affect allocation of resources of the contact center is developed based on the comparison. Optionally, these steps may be repeated to provide for continual monitoring of contact-center performance.
The resources of the contact center may comprise, for example, communication lines, trunks, and contact-center agents. Many different operational parameters of a contact center may be monitored. Just a few examples include: service level, time of call occurrence, number of agents assigned to an agent group, number of agents available to service the contact center, and time of a one-time marketing and/or promotional campaign. In some embodiments, the step of electronically monitoring may employ a digital computer associated with the contact center, and the step of performing a comparison may be carried out by the digital computer. By way of example, the threshold value for an operational parameter may be based on a business rule, operational requirement, or strategic initiative of the contact center. Also, the monitoring step may be performed in real-time during contacts in process or may be performed subsequent to termination of one or more contacts based on recorded data relating to the contact(s).
Also, in some embodiments, the indication of an action to be taken may be provided to an administrator of the contact center. Further, the action to be taken may include, for example, transferring an agent from a first agent group of the contact center (such as an agent group with excess capacity, for example) to a second agent group of the contact center (such as an agent group operating at a service level below a desired threshold service level).
Some embodiments of the method of the present invention also may include the steps of acquiring at least one parameter to be monitored, acquiring a threshold value for the monitored parameter(s), and acquiring an action to be taken based on the comparison.
The invention also may be embodied in an apparatus for allocating resources of a contact center. Some embodiments of such an apparatus may include a processing unit coupled with a storage device wherein a first set of instructions is storable in the storage device and executable by the processing unit for monitoring at least one operational parameter of the contact center. A second set of instructions, storable in the storage device and executable by the processing unit, provides for performing a comparison between the operational parameter and a threshold value for the operational parameter. A third set of instructions, storable in the storage device and executable by the processing unit, provides for developing, based on the comparison, an indication of an action to be taken to affect allocation of resources of the contact center.